The Study of Health Effects from Noise Generated in China (SHENG): design and methods.
27.4% of young factory workers already had noise-induced hearing loss at baseline.
The Study of Health Effects from Noise Generated in China (SHENG): design and methods.
Noise-induced hearing loss (noise-induced hearing loss) is the second most prevalent occupational disease in China.
Due to its insidious onset, patients are often diagnosed at an irreversible stage, yet high-quality prospective cohorts addressing this critical issue remain limited.
The baseline survey of SHENG was completed in 2023, covering eight enterprises across seven provinces and enrolling 4,660 young male workers (mean age 23.5 years).
Compared with the normal hearing group, the hearing loss group had significantly more noise exposure events, higher exposure rates to occupational co-hazards such as dust and vibration, and poorer hearing protection practices.
SHENG is planned to conduct follow-up assessments every 1-2 years.
Through longitudinal follow-up and multidimensional data integration, this cohort will establish an "environmental-clinical-genetic" risk assessment model, elucidate the dynamic progression of noise-induced hearing loss and its associations with systemic diseases, and provide key evidence for refining occupational noise exposure standards and developing precision prevention strategies tailored to susceptible populations.